


all the ways to say

by alileely



Series: the ordinary and boring tales of mark and haechan [7]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Fluff, M/M, Post-it Notes, doing little favors for each other, just haechan and mark leaving notes for each other, saying "i love you" without really saying it, sticky notes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-29
Updated: 2020-12-29
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:27:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,761
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28406973
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alileely/pseuds/alileely
Summary: There were things that Donghyuck and Mark didn't say outright. But there was one phrase in particular that they didn't say but, at the same time, they always did.
Relationships: Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Mark Lee
Series: the ordinary and boring tales of mark and haechan [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2050149
Comments: 7
Kudos: 85





	all the ways to say

Of course Mark would do some cheesy shit like this.

That was Donghyuck's first thought when he saw the bright yellow sticky note taped onto the bedside lamp. It wasn't unusual, waking up without Mark by his side on a work day. It was out of the ordinary, though, to see a sticky note just waiting for him to open his eyes and read the words Mark had hastily scribbled on it: _Good morning, baby. You're going to do great today._

It was the type of cheesy, romantic shit that only Mark could think up. Donghyuck could almost imagine him — towel tossed haphazardly over his bare shoulder, grabbing a pen and scribbling the words in an almost careless fashion before sticking it on the lamp, the first thing his eyes landed on, and jumping in the shower.

But it made him smile, though, and he found it strange but magical that he could still feel all the butterflies with him even after three years.

An idea suddenly formed in Donghyuck's mind, growing and spreading until it came to live in his hand as it swiped across the nightstand, fumbling for an object. His fingers finally found the pen and he pushed himself up, opening the desk drawer with one swift pull and grabbing the sticky notes nestled inside. Sleepy smile on his face, he scribbled briefly on it before pulling off the sticky note Mark had left for him, replacing it with his own.

Satisfied with himself, he bounced off the bed, grabbing his towel before slipping into the bathroom. He hung it around his neck, grabbing his toothbrush and pausing as soon as he turned to the mirror.

There was another sticky note, this time violet, that read: _Your smile is really pretty._

Donghyuck almost choked on the toothpaste from laughing so much. He was pretty sure he had swallowed more than half of it by the time his shoulders had stopped shaking from mirth.

Oh, Mark had woken up early for this.

There was a silly smile on his face as he pulled the sticky note off the mirror, toothbrush still in his mouth. Biting his lower lip, he stepped out of the bathroom to grab the pen and sticky notes from the nightstand and scribbled another message, taping it in the exact place where Mark had left his sticky note.

Butterflies still frolicking around in his stomach and chest, he stepped into the shower and burst out laughing when he saw another sticky note taped on the shower head. It was bright red and it read: _Your chest is a physical attraction._

Donghyuck was laughing the whole time he jotted down on the sticky note, replacing it once again with his own. He was practically vibrating with giddiness the entire time he was taking a shower, and he was still smiling silly when he stepped out, towel wrapped around his waist. It sent another course of happiness through his body when he found yet another sticky note, its brilliant blue sticking out against the clothes he had set aside last night: _Just checked the weather report. It's going to be cold today. I left my coat behind so you can use it._

Just one glance outside the window and Donghyuck knew it was cold. The sky was dull and the blue was bleeding into gray, but his heart felt warm as he traced a finger on Mark's favorite black coat. He was wide awake now, and he loved Mark so much.

Donghyuck scribbled quickly on the sticky notes, but paused for a bit, quite unsure where to leave it. It's not like anyone would set out the clothes they would wear to sleep, so he really had no idea where to leave the note for Mark to find. Shrugging, he finally decided to just settle on the closet door.

Fully dressed and gripping the coat tightly, Donghyuck made his way downstairs, sticky notes and pen still in hand. Sure enough, there was a pastel pink sticky note on the fridge.

 _You're the best_ , Mark had written.

He was chuckling the whole time he was writing his note, taping it in the same spot and retrieving Mark's note and, like he did with all the others, folding it nicely and tucking it inside his pocket. He felt like bringing Mark to work with him and this was a cute way of doing it.

Donghyuck paused as he reached for the coffee, spotting another sticky note on it. He didn't notice he always had coffee before going to work, but he guessed Mark was paying attention. He could barely stifle the giggles as he read the note: _Lay off the coffee, Hyuck. There's peach juice in the fridge. I already opened it for you so you can't say "it's stuck" as an excuse._

Mark Lee definitely wasn't the boss of him. But he still found himself with the bottle of peach juice in his hand, giggling every time he took a sip.

He checked his watch. He still had time. He wasn't really planning on cooking today, but Mark liked to eat something warm when he got home from work. He always ate those cup noodles and Donghyuck kept telling him it wasn't healthy. There really wasn't much of a choice, though, after Donghyuck had banned him from even touching the stove, the toaster, or literally anything that could explode. The only things that Mark was really allowed to use in the kitchen were the fridge and, after much persuasion, the kettle water heater.

Quickly whipping something up, Donghyuck sighed as he placed it inside the fridge, tacking a sticky note on the plastic container.

He patted his pocket, making sure he had his keys. He grabbed the coat off the chair and made his way out, shoving the pen in his pocket and leaving the sticky notes on the kitchen counter.

He didn't know why the last sticky note didn't register until his hand was on the doorknob, just a twist of a wrist away from missing it entirely.

It was right there, soft pastel green and taped at Donghyuck's face level.

_Come home to me, yeah?_

Now this was just cruel. Donghyuck had this intense urge to hug Mark tightly, but he was not even here and it physically hurt.

He didn't even bother going back for the sticky notes. Fishing the pen out of his pocket, he scribbled a word on the sticky note, just one word, before stepping out.

* * *

Mark dragged himself, half dead, up to the front door two hours after Donghyuck had left.

Okay, so maybe half dead was an exaggeration. But he certainly felt like Death had just paid him a visit and left him a souvenir while he was at it, with all the muscle pain and almost exaggerated fatigue. He could barely turn the knob, he was so tired and weak.

He let out a sigh after stepping inside, leaning heavily on the door behind him.

He staggered into the kitchen, ready to end the day with his cup noodles before taking a bath and going to sleep. But something unexpected had met him, stuck to the refrigerator.

Mark walked towards it slowly, the corners of his lips tugging upwards. Deft fingers touched the fragile paper, lips parting slightly as he mouthed the words.

_Of course I'm the best._

He chuckled softly, recalling what he had left on the fridge for Donghyuck. Shaking his head, he opened it to get some water, and stopped short when a yellow sticky note greeted him.

_I made you some soup. Just heat it up for one minute and it's good to go. You get a pass to use the microwave today. One minute, Mark._

Mark didn't know if it was the fatigue or just the Donghyuck effect, but soft peals of laughter fell from his lips the entire time he was heating the soup and while he was eating it. It tasted as good as he expected it to be, even for reheated soup.

A sigh escaped his lips as the warmth settled in his stomach, feeling the exhaustion melt off his body. It felt like he could finally breathe again, so he took a deep breath, filling his lungs until it felt like they would burst.

Drowsiness set over him in a wave of comfort, and he hauled himself up to their room to take a shower. It didn't surprise him to find yet another note on the shower head, right where he left his sticky note for Donghyuck: _Yeah, you already told me that the first time we slept together._

Mark frowned. Did he? It's not like he didn't remember his first time with Donghyuck; it was just that he probably said quite a lot of gibberish back then, literally anything that came to mind. His cheeks started to feel hot and he harshly turned the shower handle, pelting his face with almost ice cold water.

He felt like a little boy with a crush when he stepped out of the shower and his eyes immediately caught the sticky note on the mirror.

_You make my heart do "the thing" and it kind of freaks me out. In a good way._

He placed his hand over his mouth in a feeble attempt to stop himself from smiling so much. But it was no use. It was always no use when it came to Donghyuck.

He stared at the sticky note the entire time he was brushing his teeth, smiling silly. He stared at the sticky note as he walked to the closet, and he smiled sillier when his eyes landed on the thin piece of paper on it.

_You must be tired, huh? Go to bed already. Wear something warm._

Mark usually would just throw on the first thing he saw and just fall into bed. But today, his hands roamed in search for something. When his hands finally touched the soft material, he pulled it out with an endearing smile.

He had wanted to fall asleep in Donghyuck's arms, snuggled warmly against his chest, the strands of his hair tickling his cheek as he planted kisses along his jaw. But he guessed that his sweater should do. For now, at least. It smelled like him, anyway — soapy, and a tinge of hazelnut. If he tried hard, he could almost hear Donghyuck's soft snores, like music engraved into his memory. He smiled as he pulled off the last sticky note on the bedside lamp: _Proud of you for getting through the day. Get some sleep._

Mark was just about to fall asleep, feeling himself drift off, but there was an itch in the back of his mind. As though he had forgotten something.

His eyes snapped open. There had been one more sticky note, hadn't there?

The way he jumped out of bed and bounded down the stairs, you would think it was life or death. Fourteen seconds and a few almost accidents later, he finally got to the front door in record time, frantic eyes finding the sticky note on it.

The sticky note he had left.

He wasn't going to lie; he felt a bit disappointed that he ran all the way down, probably almost broke a few bones and risked a concussion, expecting to see another sweet or, knowing him, cheeky message from Donghyuck, only to be met by his own handwriting.

But as he walked closer to take the note off, he squinted.

Underneath his handwriting was the unmistakable penmanship of Lee Donghyuck, as chaotic as him with all the squiggly lines and slapdash form.

_Always._

* * *

It was a little past 5:00 in the early morning when the front door opened and Donghyuck slipped quietly inside, face worn from the day's toll and shoulders drooping with the weight of fatigue.

He shrugged the coat off his shoulders, leaving it on the coat rack. Then, he grabbed a bowl of cereal in the kitchen, gobbling it up before heading upstairs. His steps slowed when he saw soft light coming from the crack under the door. Quietly opening it, he peeked inside and saw Mark sitting up on the bed, glasses hanging precariously off his nose as he gently turned the page of the book on his lap.

"You're still up?" Donghyuck asked, torn between tackling him in a hug and scolding him for staying up so late. Mark looked up, eyes wide as he registered his presence.

"You're home early."

"Mark, it's already 5AM," Donghyuck said. "I'm already home late by three hours."

Mark glanced at the digital clock on the nightstand and blinked innocently, then said in a way that was definitely not convincing, "Oh, yeah. I knew that."

"No, you didn't," Donghyuck narrowed his eyes at him, stepping towards the closet. He watched Mark scratch his ears, shrugging in resignation. Tugging the closet open, Donghyuck gestured to the book on Mark's lap and asked, "Just how long have you been reading?"

"Since I got home."

"You've been reading for _ten hours_? Have you slept at all?"

"Don't worry, I got a few naps in," Mark laughed as the younger slipped into a pair of shorts and a faded gray shirt that had once belonged to Mark, but Donghyuck had worn it enough times to establish possession over it. Mark didn't mind. It looked better on him, anyway.

There was horrified sound from Donghyuck as he exclaimed, "Are you kidding me? You have to leave for work in another five hours. You barely got enough sleep."

"Maybe if you just got into bed with me, I would be able to get a few more hours in."

Donghyuck sighed, but obligingly climbed into bed with him, letting Mark snuggle warmly against his chest, his head tucked in the curve of his neck. There was a sigh, and Donghyuck wasn't sure if it was him or Mark. It hardly mattered; he could feel himself falling, consumed entirely by the warmth of the arms around him and the comforting lull of sleep.

Mark shifted his body slightly and, when he whispered, his breath tickled the skin on Donghyuck's neck. "You didn't even take a shower."

"Can't you think of something more romantic to say?"

Mark chuckled softly and Donghyuck could already tell by the sound of it that he was already half asleep. He hummed, low and reverberating in Donghyuck's chest, before finally speaking, "Thanks for the soup. You really didn't have to. But it tasted really good."

"Mm-hm. Thanks for opening the peach juice. Oh, and for the coat."

Mark shifted again, burying his head deeper into Donghyuck's neck as if he couldn't get close enough. "I missed you a lot yesterday."

The sleepy rasp in Mark's voice and the words that he spoke made Donghyuck pull him closer, clutching him tightly the way he wanted to when he woke up to those stupid sticky notes.

"I missed you, too, idiot."

* * *

There were things that Donghyuck and Mark didn't say outright. Sometimes, it was just flirtatious, when one was trying to get the other to say something cute or embarrassing but they just wouldn't. Sometimes, the words just felt foreign on their tongues, not really difficult but more unnatural. It just felt easier and more right to express some things through actions — a gentle caress here, a soft touch there. Their fingers, their eyes, their lips just somehow said more than spoken words, and so they spoke with fingers blazing trails down their spines, eyes meeting each other in furtive gazes across rooms filled with people, lips that spoke emotions, not words, as they met, honey to the taste.

But there was one phrase in particular that they didn't say but, at the same time, they always did.

It bled into every mundane statement, every gentle reminder to stay warm and every compliment, however small.

It existed in notes scribbled precipitously between the rush of their morning routines, and in the smiles exchanged in different times of day in the same places.

It echoed in the opened bottle of peach juice ready to drink for busy hands caught in the morning rush and homemade soup left in the refrigerator to fill an empty stomach after a long day, occupied the silent space between their bodies as they lay half dreaming, sunlight forging a path across Mark's collar and painting them in a golden glow.

Some things just didn't need saying. Some things were just obvious.

To Donghyuck and Mark, nothing was more obvious than the words they didn't say.

**Author's Note:**

> [cc](https://curiouscat.me/alileely) | [twitter](https://twitter.com/alileely)
> 
> Thank you for reading!!! Please feel free to leave kudos, comments, suggestions, and constructive criticism. I hope you enjoyed this little fic and have a lovely day ahead.
> 
> Sending u hugs ♡


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